Nicki Minaj and Chance the Rapper aren’t the only hip-hop stars to call out Miley Cyrus for being an appropriative, racist and privileged trainwreck. Now, XXL Freshman and Odd Future affiliate Vince Staples (whose debut album "Summertime 06" is one of the most acclaimed hip-hop albums of this year) is also taking Cyrus to task.
In an interview with VICE’s i-D that covered a multitude of topics, the emcee called out Cyrus’s recent criticism of Kendrick Lamar as misguided and racist. Cyrus, for her part, was talking about sexist double standards in pop culture in her Marie Claire cover story in August, when she said, “Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he’s cool. I do it and I’m a druggie whore.”
Staples picked up on this, noting that Lamar has never released a song about LSD, and wondered if she was confusing K-Dot for A$AP Rocky:
She didn’t know who she was talking about. Kendrick Lamar doesn’t have a song about LSD—that’s A$AP Rocky. So is it either you don’t know what you’re talking about or is it all black people look alike? Either one is fine with me, but shut the fuck up Miley Cyrus.
He also talked about Taylor Swift, saying that she would have the edge in a brawl with Cyrus (because of the former’s height advantage) and noting that she stood up for musicians against streaming services:
I love Taylor Swift because she got a little bit of my publishing back with that whole Apple Music thing she did. Anyone who has a problem with Taylor Swift, I’m supporting her because I’m trying to buy a home right now.
Speaking on the United Kingdom banning fellow Odd Future member Tyler, The Creator from performing a show because of his previous sexist and homophobic lyrics, Staples was diplomatic:
He’ll be ok. It’s just not fair to his fans. Politics is a tricky situation. When you have people who are trying to control the country, they’re able to do what they want. Doesn’t matter what I feel about him, matters what they feel about him. They’ll let him back. It won’t be forever.
Read the full interview over at i-D.